Juan Pablo Montoya says it would be good news for the sport if his former McLaren team-mate Kimi Raikkonen moves to NASCAR.

Former Formula 1 world champion Raikkonen will follow Montoya's footsteps in moving to America's most popular form of racing this year.

The former Ferrari driver would start his NASCAR foray next summer with races in the Camping World Truck Series, a national championship where some current and former Sprint Cup drivers compete against young talent.

Raikkonen's manager Steve Robertson confirmed the move on Wednesday: "Kimi will drive in selected races in the NASCAR series."

Montoya, his team-mate during 26 Formula 1 grands prix, would welcome the prospect of having him race in NASCAR.

"Well, people talk a lot and I've heard the story already before, but if he's definitely coming it would be really good for him and for the sport," Montoya told AUTOSPORT.

"He would be very welcome here."

Montoya was Raikkonen's team-mate at McLaren starting in 2005, winning 10 out of the season's 19 grands prix between them.

Then in 2006 the two raced together again until the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis, right before the Colombian announced a deal to race in NASCAR's top series for Chip Ganassi in 2007.

Montoya's early departure from Formula 1 following his NASCAR announcement anticipated his stock car debut to the fall of 2006. He entered six races at lower-level stock car series before making his Sprint Cup debut in the 2006 season-finale at Homestead.

Raikkonen would be the sixth former F1 driver to attempt a move to NASCAR since Montoya announced his deal in the summer of 2006.

Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula 1 world champion, has competed in 15 NASCAR events in the US between 2007 and 2010 but a full-time drive has not materialised.

Formula One Champ Kimi Raikkonen to Race in Nascar in MayBy DAVE CALDWELL

Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 after winning the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari.Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One world champion, has requested and received approval to run in a Nascar Camping World Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, said Amanda Jones Ellis, a spokeswoman for the series.

Turun Sanomat, a newspaper in the racer’s native Finland, reported Tuesday that Raikkonen, 31, is expected to race with a new team in the truck series, followed perhaps by a move to the Nationwide Series and then into the Sprint Cup Series, the big leagues of stock-car racing. Raikkonen did not disclose how many truck series races he planned to drive this season.

“I’m really looking forward to get there to familiarize to the world of Nascar,” he told the newspaper. “I have been following it for a long time. I just love the American spirit of racing. Obviously, it will be very challenging and great fun for me.”

Raikkonen would not be the first former Formula One driver to move to Nascar. Juan Pablo Montoya won seven Formula One races in five seasons before joining Chip Ganassi’s Nascar team in 2006. Montoya has won two Sprint Cup Series races in 150 attempts.

Montoya, a native of Colombia who also won the Indianapolis 500, is widely credited with bringing a new group of fans into stock-car racing. Similarly, Raikkonen, who won seven Formula One races in 2005 and six in 2007, may cause European auto-racing fans to be more curious about Nascar.

The Finn, known by competitors and fans as the Iceman, left the Ferrari Formula One team after the 2009 season. After failing to land a position with another top-level Formula One program, Raikkonen drove in 15 races in the World Rally Championship, finishing 10th in the standings last year.

Raikkonen’s new team, ICE 1, will be owned by Foster Gillett, who ran the day-to-day operations at Richard Petty Motorsports. Gillett’s family owned the Montreal Canadiens hockey franchise and are also former co-owners of the Liverpool soccer team.

Despite his Nascar ambitions, Raikkonen has not abandoned W.R.C. He is expected to participate in eight races for a team also known as ICE 1 this season, driving a Citroën.